The present invention relates to a plum tree, designated varietally by the name "John-John", and more particularly to a plum tree which bears a dark Purplish-Red fruit which ripens approximately 7 to 10 days before the fruit of the Laroda Plum Tree (unpatented), but which is distinguished therefrom in being somewhat larger on the average, more fully colored, and of a milder "less acidic" flavor.
For many years, the applicant has grown large acreages of fruit trees and has constantly sought to produce improved varieties thereof. One of the procedures used by the applicant to produce new fruit trees is to germinate thousands of seeds of unknown parentage, to grow the resulting seedlings to maturity, and then to evaluate the resultant trees and their fruit. The subject variety of this application is a result of one of these many randomly-pollinated seedlings of unknown parentage. The subject plum tree was originated in 1977 on the applicant's ranch near the corner of Kings Canyon Road and Fowler Avenue, Fresno, County of Fresno, State of California. The seedling of the present variety was germinated by the applicant and grown with thousands of other seedlings on his ranch near the intersection of the designated Kings Canyon Road and Fowler in the City of Fresno, until its unique qualities were detected and appreciated. The applicant then asexually reproduced the new variety in 1981, by grafting a scion of the new and distinct variety from the seedling onto standing seedling trees at the aforementioned orchard and observed the grafts to determine whether the characteristics observed in the original seedling were present. The grafted progeny were grown at the designated farm until it was determined that the new variety dependably and accurately reproduced the superior characteristics observed by the applicant in the original seedling.
As will subsequently become apparent, the instant variety of plum tree is somewhat similar to the Laroda Plum Tree (unpatented), with which it appears most nearly similar. However, the present variety of plum tree is harvested some 7 to 10 days prior to the Laroda Plum Tree, and in addition the fruit of the subject variety is somewhat larger on the average, is more richly colored, and has a less acidic flavor than the fruit of the Laroda.